Some of the Latest Developments :: By Daymond Duck

The fulfillment of Bible prophecy continues to advance on all fronts. Several examples are recorded below.

Concerning Russia, in early December Russian President Vladimir Putin declared victory over ISIS in Syria and announced the withdrawal of many troops and weapons from Syria. It was deception.

He may have pulled some troops and weapons out, but he is actually building up his forces in Syria and most especially his air force. This is significant because the Bible says Gog “shall ascend and come like a cloud” when he attacks Israel in the latter years and latter days (Ezek. 38:9).

Concerning Iran, the Ayatollah continues to give about $800 million a year to approximately 80,000 Hezbollah fighters and 10,000 Shiite rebel troops in Syria. Despite warnings from Israel, Iran is shipping advanced weapons and missiles to these forces.

There are reports that Iran intends to increase these forces, and even worse, that Iran continues to try to develop nuclear weapons.

These developments prompted Israel’s Security Cabinet to meet several times in Jan. 2018, and it resulted in a major Israeli strike on Iranian facilities and weapons in Syria on Jan. 9, 2018.

Concerning Turkey, Mr. Erdogan continues to destroy his ties with NATO and to move closer to Russia and Iran. There is some speculation that he has already gone too far and that he will wind up fully cooperating with Russia and Iran.

Concerning the U.S., Pres. Trump has turned out to be one of the greatest friends Israel has ever had. His Proclamation that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, his financial and military support for Israel and his recent approval of Israel’s strike on Iranian facilities and weapons in Syria are examples. These are bold decisions that place the U.S. on the winning side.

Several reports say Pres. Trump has reversed his position and he is not going to pull U.S. troops out of Syria. This is a decision he made because Iran is trying to take over Syria, and he has decided not to let it happen.

Concerning the PA and a peace treaty, on Jan. 6, 2018, delegates from the Arab League met in Jordan to discuss Pres. Trump’s decision to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. The PA demanded that the Arab League support the removal of the U.S. from the peace process, that the Arab League reject all of Pres. Trump’s peace initiatives until he renounces his decision to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, and that the Arab League support sanctions on every nation that moves their embassy to Jerusalem. All of the PA demands were rejected.

By the way, on Jan. 11, 2018, it was reported that the U.S. will probably establish its embassy in Jerusalem at a temporary location in 2018 while it waits on construction at a permanent location. The site of that permanent location will probably be revealed in the coming weeks. Time will tell.

The prediction that Pres. Trump’s embassy decision would trigger WWIII has not yet materialized. For the most part, the Arab nations have criticized Pres. Trump’s decision, but they have kept a lid on most of the extremists that want to start a war.

Concerning the capital of a future PA state, Pres. Trump offered the PA a town near Jerusalem called Abu Dis. Mr. Abbas is furious and has rejected the offer.

Concerning U.S. contributions to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) that go to the PA, Pres. Trump has done some backtracking. The first 2018 U.S. payment to the UN will be cut slightly more than 50%. Future payments will be contingent upon changes in the UNRWA and they will require the PA to be involved in peace talks with Israel.

Concerning the EU, on Jan. 10, 2018, it was reported that the EU has scheduled a meeting for Jan. 31, 2018 to discuss ways to force Israel to speed up the peace process. The EU released a statement that read, “There is an urgent need to bring all parties together to discuss measures to speed up efforts that can underpin a negotiated two-state solution.”

It would not surprise this writer if the peace process is speeded up, but speeding up the peace process means speeding up the Tribulation Period, etc.

It is the EU position that Israel will have to share Jerusalem with the PA.

Concerning birth pangs, the natural disasters (drought, wildfire, earthquakes, mudslides, etc.) continue in what is arguably the most immoral state in the U.S. On Jan. 9, 2018, mudslides in Montecito, California killed at least 20 people.